TOURIST DEVELOPMENT DISCUSSIONS

By LYNDA KINSEY Of The Sun

The Tourist Development meeting held Thursday, April 13 revealed a treasure trove of activity by the Board and Director Kinsey Miller to promote Wakulla County and attract visitors to our area.
The meeting opened with Elizabeth Carter, a member of the Friends of Sopchoppy River, who presented a map showing the Southwestern portion of the county with all of the trailheads that connect with the other trail starting in Sopchoppy.
There are 16 access locations for the trail. Carter said very few of the maps are available at this time, but the group is open to sponsorships for additional printings. The group is working toward securing the City of Sopchoppy in becoming a Florida Trail Town, a designation through the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Office of Greenways and Trails. They are awaiting a site visit for the designations and would require signage at the trails for approvals. There would be added perks and a wider range of reach, which would include website presence and other publicity.
There are 10 designated Florida Trail Towns in Florida but there are none in the Panhandle, according to Carter.
Other discussions during Thurday’s meeting:
• Bowstern Marketing out of Tallahassee is working with the TDC to help promote Wakulla County. Part of the plan is filming the different areas of Wakulla County, attractions, rivers, etc., and blast across multiple social media platforms. Recent videos include canoeing and kayaking the rivers, a shoot was conducted at The Shack in St. Marks and video of the Gulf Specimen Marine Lab. They will continue to work on brand awareness and film in our area throughout the year. According to the agency engagement is up 34% from last year on the social media sites.
New videos of Wakulla County can be viewed by going to Visit Wakulla. They are asking everyone to share whenever you view video via social media to gain more eyes on our area.
• Underway is a camping Guide and “things to do in Wakulla on a rainy day.”
• A Paddling Guide is in progress.
• Fish racks at local boat ramps are coming so that folks may photograph their catch.
• Exploration of a new website called “Go Gulf State” that promotes the towns along the Gulf – the traffic is heavy and discussions will come in regards to involvement.
• Future plans for the Visit Wakulla website include making the site more user friendly and allowing new businesses large or small to add themselves and information about their business.
• County Commissioner Ralph Thomas has been involved at the Florida Legislature speaking against the bill to defund Visit Florida. The proposed bill wants to use local TDC tax dollars to fund Visit Florida.
•  Next Meeting: June 29, 2023